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Your dog's nutrition is important for a healthy & happy life. petMD experts help you to know what to feed your dog, how much food to feed, and the differences in dog foods, so your dog gets optimum nutrition.

Nutrition Nuggets is the newest offshoot of petMD's Dog Nutrition Center. Each week Dr. Coates will use her expertise and wisdom to blog about the intricacies of dog nutrition.

You’ve researched your dog’s nutritional needs, compared brands (perhaps using the MyBowl tool), and purchased the best option for your beloved pooch. Now the question arises: "What is the best way to store the food to keep it fresh and wholesome for as long as possible?"
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At some point, every dog owner has to deal with a dog that vomits and/or has diarrhea. Dogs are anatomically and physiologically built to deal with the occasional dietary indiscretion. Because dogs evolved from omnivorous canines that often scavenged for food, their gastrointestinal systems are... READ MORE

When I was in veterinary school, students were taught to evaluate three vital signs in every patient: temperature, pulse and respiration rates (also known as a TPR). This was drilled into our heads over and over again. No patient, sick or apparently healthy, should walk out of the exam room without a... READ MORE

I’ve talked many times before about the important role that balanced nutrition plays in keeping our pets healthy. In fact, there aren’t many things that owners do on a daily basis that have a greater influence on their pets' well-being.
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Owners can find themselves in the position of having to switch dog foods for any number of reasons. Maybe your dog has been diagnosed with a dietary responsive disease. Perhaps it’s time to switch from puppy to adult food or from adult to mature food. Or maybe you’ve simply decided that your... READ MORE

A dog is a dog is a dog, right? Not quite – at least when we’re talking nutrition. While dogs of all breeds, ages and sizes do have similar nutritional needs, there are some subtle but important differences that owners should be aware of.
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I’ve talked before about the wealth of information that, by law, has to be printed on all pet food labels. Today, I want to touch upon something that isn’t listed … the quality of the ingredients that make up the food.
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JENNIFER COATES, DVM

... graduated with honors from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 1999. In the years since, she has practiced veterinary medicine in Virginia, Wyoming, and Colorado. She is the author of several books about veterinary medicine and animal care, including the Dictionary of Veterinary Terms, Vet-Speak Deciphered for the Non-Veterinarian .

Jennifer also writes short stories that focus on the strength and importance of the human-animal bond and freelance articles relating to a variety of animal care and veterinary topics. Dr. Coates lives in Fort Collins, Colorado with her husband, daughter, and pets.